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Reinhardt Wilhelm styles himself as a champion of a bygone age, who lives by the knightly codes of valor, justice, and courage.

Over thirty years ago, Overwatch was founded to counter the threat of the robot uprisings around the world. Reinhardt, a highly decorated German soldier, was inducted as part of the original Overwatch strike team that put an end to the Omnic Crisis. After the conflict's resolution, Overwatch grew into a global institution, keeping the peace in a war-torn world. Reinhardt proved himself to be one of its most stalwart champions.

Reinhardt's unique ethics and larger-than-life persona earned the admiration of his peers and superiors alike. Never afraid to speak his mind, he was Overwatch's most vocal supporter and, when necessary, its harshest critic, providing a constant reminder that Overwatch was meant to be a force for good.

Having served into his late fifties, Reinhardt was faced with mandatory retirement from combat operations. Despondent about being removed from active duty, Reinhardt feared that his days of purpose and glory had ended. As times grew darker and Overwatch came under suspicion of corruption and sedition, Reinhardt could only watch as the cause he had dedicated his life to defending surrendered in disgrace.

Though Overwatch was eventually disbanded, Reinhardt was not content to sit idly by while the world fell to disorder. Once again donning his Crusader armor, he has vowed to fight for justice across Europe like a knight of old, defending the innocent and winning hearts and minds with the promise of better days to come.

All seasonal event items, which are marked with special event icons ( • • • • • ), are only available to be unlocked either through their respective Loot Boxes or by Credits within the event's duration.During the event, newly-introduced event items cost three times as much as non-event items of the same rarity, while returning seasonal items are unlocked at the regular price.

Reinhardt Wilhelm was a highly decorated German soldier when the Omnic Crisis began. He joined the German armed force at a young age, seeking for glory.[1] Around that time, he was under the tutelage of Balderich von Adler, the leader of the Crusaders. Reinhardt served with the Crusaders until after the Battle of Eichenwalde. Balderich, originally called to join the newly formed Overwatch strike team, was mortally wounded during the battle and chose Reinhardt to be sent as his successor. [2]

Reinhardt had been put in the frontline force of Overwatch, even after the organization had expanded itself into a global institution. During his time at Overwatch he participated in Operation White Dome, during which he saved Torbjörn Lindholm's life and as such he had given him permission by him to name his as of yet unborn child (who would later grow up to become Brigitte) and become their godfather. Later, he was forced to retire before Overwatch collapsed, as he was in his late fifties and his Crusader Armor had fallen into disuse. Regardless, he kept the armor and began traveling Europe with Brigitte.

Reinhardt and Brigitte stopped in a small town that had been taken over by The Dragons. Brigitte helped to repair the Crusader Armor, and Reinhardt used it to drive the gang out of the village.[3]

Around Christmas time, Reinhardt and Brigitte visited and spent the holidays with Torbjörn and his family.[4]

At the time of the Overwatch recall, Reinhardt was in Nuuk, Greenland.[5] When Reinhardt received Overwatch's agent recall broadcast, he traveled to the ruins of Eichenwalde to pay respects to Balderich, before departing to once again serve in Overwatch as the world's shield.[2]

Possessing a jolly and outgoing disposition, Reinhardt is a rather imaginative juggernaut, always wanting to bring hope and ambition towards the people. He lives by a code of valor and justice, much like the crusaders of medieval history. Although he is at an old age, he never wants to admit it and vows to fight until his last breath, according to his interactions with Mercy. He also really cares about his comrades of Overwatch and will, quite literally, take a bullet (or several) for his friends if he must. His care can be shown by his anger when watching Torbjörn die in a match as well as what he had to say at his former commander Jack Morrison's funeral: "He devoted everything he was to Overwatch. He was our moral compass. Our inspiration. Our friend."

While outside of battle, Reinhardt has multiple different hobbies that he enjoys doing. He seems to show concerns about his appearance such as his tan and hairstyle, as shown by his voice lines when in Watchpoint: Gibraltar and interacting with Pharah. His favorite food is currywurst, and he loves listening to "classic" music, such as the works of David Hasselhoff.

Reinhardt is also assumed to be a fan of D.Va, as specified when he asks her for an autograph.

During his years as a Crusader, Reinhardt was more brash and foolhardy. He thought of only glory for the Crusaders and laughed at Overwatch as some "secret organization" where there is no glory to be won. He would recklessly charge into battle and leave his allies exposed. These actions cost him dearly during the Battle of Eichenwalde, where his thoughtless actions cost both the use of his left eye and the life of his mentor/commander/friend: Balderich Von Alder. It was this loss that developed the unwavering sense of duty and loyalty to Overwatch within Reinhardt, as he serves to honor his fallen friend.

Reinhardt is a purebred tank character, whose game style benefits on team play and communication, meaning, he is rarely a bad choice. His Rocket Hammer deals decent damage and can hit multiple targets, making him useful at dismantling enemy formations or sweeping after an Earthshatter.

For both his character based achievements, its all about shield management and cool down management. His shield can block 2000 damage so having it destroyed and fully charged 4 times should net that achievement. The other achievement is just timing your cooldowns. Just make sure to have all your abilities hit the same target.

When using fire strike after putting down your shield make sure you are aiming up. Some people will tilt the shield down and end up wasting fire strike.

Earthshatter isn't too helpful on its own, but when paired with another ability like Dragonblade, Self Destruct, Configuration: Tank, Death Blossom, or Rocket Barrage, it can be extremely helpful.

Barrier Field

Positioning is key for Reinhardt. Knowing where the best spots and choke points are can make the difference between winning and losing.

His barrier field covers a large width and soaks up massive damage (2000HP), making it invaluable for an entire team to stay behind. Reinhardt can also move with it active, albeit at a decreased speed, or aim the barrier upwards to defend from aerial raids, or even downwards if it's on a higher spot.

Even when his barrier has very low health remaining, it will still absorb all damage from any single hit, even if that hit deals more damage than the barrier's remaining health. For example, Reinhardt can use his barrier to protect himself and his teammates from D.Va's Self-Destruct, even if the barrier only has 1 health remaining.

Be sure not to jump while the barrier is up, as any attacks can go under it, including an opposing Reinhardt's Earthshatter. The same can happen if you aim the barrier high or low.

Reinhardt's shield regenerates health when it is put away, even if the player is under attack. Be sure to put away the shield when possible to regenerate it - the shield has a separate health pool that cannot be restored by healing or health packs. Besides, it's wise to tell your teammates before putting the barrier away, since you will expose your team.

Reinhardt's Barrier Field can turn games, as slowly advancing forward with his team standing behind it can make for a team push that allows for slow and constant pressure against the enemy. Reinhardt and his team can move to advantageous positions.

Staying in one spot with his Barrier Field is not a good idea. Enemies can flank him, teammates will not have his shield when they need it, and he will practically be useless. Move with your team to be most valuable.

A Reinhardt by himself is quite useless. Having teammates to back him up is vital, and if all teammates are dead, it is best to just retreat and wait for your team. After all, heroes like Reinhardt, Lucio, and Bastion are key players in many team compositions, and losing any of them is devastating.

The Charge is used mainly to disrupt enemy's formation, but it can also be used to taking out enemy supports (mainly healers, since it can kill them easily) or tanks (exposing the enemy team to yours).

A popular tactic is to use Reinardt's Earthshatter and then pick up an enemy to smash into a wall.

As far as charging goes, try charging in the general direction of an enemy, and do it at close range. Most times, the enemy will be moving, and you can pin them if they do come towards you.

Be careful where you charge, as Reinhardt cannot stop his charge. Losing a Reinhardt due to some accident like charging off a cliff can be very detrimental.

Despite that, you can still use Charge to throw an opponent off the scene, at cost of yourself. It's a useful tactic during the payload's arrival at Watchpoint: Gibraltar, or during Overtime.

Don't pin certain characters such as D.Va or Genji off the map, as they have abilities that can let them back onto the field.

Another good use of Charge is interrupting enemies during their Ultimates, including taking out D.Va's Self-Destruct mech from your team's sight, although this can sometimes be done with Barrier Field, minus the self-sacrifice.

Reinhardt lacks range, making him a target for snipers (when his shield is down) and aerial attacks like Pharah or a positioned character.

Reinhardt's Barrier Field has a large health pool but lacks area. That means enemies can simply attack from different directions, and Reinhardt will only be able to stop a few of them.

As Reinhardt generally has to stay with the majority of his team, if heroes like Roadhog hooks a healer away, that means the Reinhardt will be forced to lower his shield and attack the Roadhog, or he will choose to sacrifice the healer, which will leave the team at a major disadvantage.

The large red hero in the middle of the "Overwatch is born" image is an early design of Reinhardt. This concept remains a canon ex-Overwatch agent, who was seen in the Cinematic Trailer and Recall alongside Reinhardt.

"Reinhardt" comes from Old German, with a few possible interpretations: "Regin-hard" (made strong/hard by the gods), "Rain-hard" (strong despite a rain of enemy fire), or "Regin-harti" (strong/wise counsel). His name can also be read as a compound of old Germanic words "rain" (modern German "rein, wahr" - "pure, true") and "hart" ("Herz, hart" - "heart, hard"). The literal translation is "Pureheart", meaning honest and loyal.

His Crusader Armor is powered by a biofeedback system that allows the user to exhibit superhuman strength.[6]

Reinhardt is currently the tallest character in the game, very closely followed by Roadhog.

With all the known ages of the Overwatch cast, Reinhardt is the oldest.

Reinhardt is also seen telling the story of Junkenstein's Monster in the Halloween comic.

On April 1, 2017 (April Fool's day), anyone who had Reinhardt as their selected hero had a filter applied to their chat messages while playing him. The filter put their messages in all caps, added exclamation marks at the end, and added either "PRECISION GERMAN ENGINEERING!!!!!", "FOR HONOR!!!!!", "FOR GLORY!!!!!", "I AM THE ULTIMATE CRUSHING MACHINE!!!", "BRING ME ANOTHER!!!!!", or "CATCHPHRASE!!!" after that.

In a pre-game conversation with Pharah, they both mention a poster, in the Uprising event one of Reinhardt's sprays is the poster

Reinhardt's Bloodhardt and Blackhardt skins replace his rocket hammer with an axe.

Although this is purely aesthetic, it gives the player a slight advantage as the axe takes up less space on the screen than the rocket hammer.

Reinhardt's quotes "German Engineering" and "100% German Power" remarks his proud of German technology and its participation in the science general development, given that many famous and influent scientists were born in Germany.

The "Storm, Earth and Fire" trophy is a reference to the Warcraft III Orcish Horde Shaman hero, whose summoning line was "Storm, Earth, and Fire: heed my call.".

Reinhardt's "Flex" emote is a reference to famous pro wrestler Hulk Hogan, as he performed the same flex poses during interviews and in matches.